(If you're keeping score, this is NOT a year one story--so Alex is married to Beth and they have children, I'm still on my own with Daisy and White Owl is an established heroine here. I haven't written a story with the recent Owl in a while and felt this would fit right in...)
Saturday broke with a frosty chill in Queen City. I was currently writing a new book, with a "working leave" from the museum and had decided that for one Saturday, I was going to laze in bed. My other job, as White Owl had been quite busy the previous night. I had rescued a single mother and her children from a tenement blaze, and broken up a gang of car thieves. So when I crawled back into bed at four in the morning, it was with the hope of sleeping in.
I pulled the comforter back up and disgruntled Daisy, (who had been mildly gruntled before then) She stretched, then flopped back onto her side, purring angrily and kneading her paws and claws into my bare leg. I grumbled and made more room for her and she sat up to wash imaginary dirt from her otherwise pristine white paws.
Having thus satisfied the beast, I attempted to drop back into sleep, but the telephone began ringing. I rached over to the nightstand and grabbed the receiver. "Hllumph?" I mumbled.
"Did I wake you up?" came the ever cheerful voice of my brother Alex. I shot a bleary eye at the clock.
"No I'm always up at 7:15 on a Saturday morning," I lied.
"You're lying and we both know it," laughed Doug. "But I'm calling on behalf of a special group this morning. We're going out to Culver's farm to pick out a couple of pumpkins for Nicholas and Gregory. And they said they wanted you to come too."
In the background, I could hear eager young voices shouting "PLEEEEEASE, AUNTIE THEENA!!!" I chuckled, the happiness in their voices warming me and energizing me more than a warm bed and coffee ever could.
"All right, I'll come," I promised, putting my feet onto the cold hardwood floor. Thirty minutes, a hot shower and a couple opf Poptarts later, I was squeezing into the middle seat of Alex's minivan between my nephews Nicholas and Gregory. We giggled and chatted all the way out to Culver Farm, on the north side of the city.
The Culvers had been running a pumpkin farm and haunted house for years, and this year had expanded their little family farm to include a corn maze. We pulled into the parking lot and I helped Alex and Beth unbuckle my nephews from their car seats then bounced out of the van into the parking lot.
"Look at the scarecrow, Aunt Theena!" said Nicholas, pointing at the corn maze. I looked over and saw a sinister looking scarecrow hanging on the gibbet. There was an almost human quality to him that kept my eyes focused. The scarecrow hung still for a moment, then turned and glared at me with an evil leer.
I jumped back startled, "Oh my!" The boys laughed and ran off to the pumpkin trailers with their mother. I kept staring at the scarecrow, almost conviced I'd seen him before.
"He's really good isn't he?" I turned to see Lonnie Culver smiling at me. Lonnie had been friends with my father for years in the small businessmen's club and we still maintained a good relationship with him. "That's Owen Reeves out there. He's a drama major at Queen City University and we hired him for weekends in September and October. He'll frighten just about anyone out of their pants."
I nodded. "He certainly gave me a start, and I'm clear over here." Culver laughed and said, "Nothing that a cup of hot cider can't fix. Come on, I'll stand you for one." Soon I had a warm apple cider in my hand and I was discussing business with Lonnie.
"This is gonna be the last year I think Athena," he said. "With my kids all grown up, there's no one to help run the haunted house and maze. At least not for free. And despite the good turnouts, we're always running just a bit in the red at the end of the season."
"Could you raise admission?" I asked.
"Aw shucks," Lonnie said. "This is a family operation--that's what makes it so popular. We do ok on the pumpkins, but the haunted barn and the corn maze--that brings 'em in too. But we never make a lot there, and most of it is for expenses." He hesitated and I could sense there was something more bothering him.
"I think there's something else, Lonnie," I said.
He frowned. "I'm also worried about the publicity when the paper hits tomorrow morning," he said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
Lonnie just frowned and pulled out a piece of paper from his coat. As I read over it, a chill ran down my spine. The article detailed the disappearance of three young women over the course of the previous three weekends. All three had been out with groups of friends, and then dropped off near their homes. No one had seen them since. The only other link was that all three groups had last been at the Maze and Haunted House. I set the paper down. I had been tangentially aware of these cases, as Captain Winslow fretted over me becoming one of the statistics; but I hadn't been fully briefed.
I handed the paper back to Lonnie and stood up. Alex and the kids were approaching, with each of them carrying a pumpkin as big as they were. I resolved to check into the missing coeds that night.
The trip back home was filled with chatter as the boys described what they wanted their pumpkins to look like and as they described their various thoughts on the pumpkin patch and farm. I listened seriously, but was delighted when we pulled up to my apartment after lunch. My reserves were fizzling a bit. I promised to meet the boys on Halloween to see their costumes and to help hand out candy, the tottered up the stairs and collapsed on the couch.
I took a power nap, and woke up refreshed around four. I did a review of the cases on the Internet, and realized I might do better at police headquarters. I stripped and changed to White Owl, flying into Captain Winslow's office. He looked up as I landed, scowling.
"What brings you in so early?" he asked.
"Connie Davisson, Linda Holzbauer and Mei Nyung. Why didn't you ask for my help?"
"Because we're not sure we're not dealing with anything more than runaways. But the real reason, is this is county and you know Sheriff Lynch isn't too fond of you. I think you intimidate him."
It was true--I was welcome in Queen City and some of the outlying communities. But Stevenson County's sheriff department was the exception to the rule. Sheriff Lynch was none too pleased when I broke up a drug ring that had been operating a lab just outside city limits. We had a lot of minor tussles over jurisdiction, but overall, I thought we begrudged each other our places.
Winslow looked at me and said, "Well County's not sharing with us again. So I doubt I have anything more than you do. Are you coing to investigate it?" He frowned when I nodded. "well be careful and stay out of Lynch's way. And keep in touch, will you?"
"I will, Captain," I promised. I scowled myself and flew out the window. I headed north, as the twilight burned the sky bright orange. I flew over Culver's farm, watching the crowds gather for the maze and haunted house. I could see Owen watching from his Scarecrow perch in the maze, shouting discouragement and taunts to the baffled customers.
Just west of Culver's I saw another farm. I remembered it from the morning jaunt, and swung low. The for sale sign swayed uneasily in the gloaming. The barn door yawed open, with a deep gloom inside. I walked around the outside of the house, and found the cellar door open. Curious, I pulled the door open and flashed my light into the dark of the cellar. Something golden flashed and I entered carefully, slowly walking down the stairs.
My nose was assailed by the sickening sweet stench of putrifying flesh. I gagged back, trying not to throw up. After getting control of my stomach, I stepped into the room. Flashing the light around the basement I saw an abbatoir of human bodies. Five tubs lay on the floor of the basement, with bodies in various states of decay. Three were definitely female, judging from the size. But the fourth one was a male. In a pile of clothes, I found a student ID for Owen Reeves.
"Owne Reeves?" If he were one of the victims, then who was the scarecrow? I called Winslow and gave him my GPS location. He told me it was still in county and not city; but he'd patch it through to the sheriff. I closed the cell and climbed back up the stairs to the fresh air.
The lights were still bright over at Culver's farm. I flew up over the cornfield and got an Owl's eye view of the maze. The lines seemed all but gone, and I wondered if I had been in the house longer than I thought. But then I saw Lonnie Culver closing the gates. Apparently he was done for the night. I gazed back to the Maze and saw the scarecrow climing from his perch and moving away from the exit.
I landed in the field and followed as the scarecrow wove his way unerringly toward the abandoned farmhouse. He paused and looked back, and I wondered for a moment if I'd been spotted. Then I saw him pick up something. No it was some one! He had another coed over his shoulder and was carrying her toward the killing grounds.
I dove at the bastard, clubbing him with my bootheels. This was one of the few times I wished I hadn't given up using the talons. But the bootheels worked well and the scarecrow tumbled head over heels dropping the girl.
I landed between them, and with a roundhouse kick, I dropped the scarecrow to the ground. He flopped once and stopped moving. I swept the girl up and flew her to the the Culvers. Lonnie dropped his jaw when he saw me land.
"Mercy! White Owl? What have you got here?"
"There's no time to explain, call the sheriff; then call an ambulance. This girl has been drugged. I'm going back after the kidnapper." Without a backward glance I was airborne again.
By the time I reached the spot where I'd left the scarecrow, he was gone. But I knew where he'd gone.
I reached the grounds of the abandoned farm again and landed with trepidation. All was quiet. But I saw a flash of light in the barn this time and raced toward it. The barn was abandoned filled with a tractor and several empty stalls and bins. I discounted the bins that were too small for a person to fit into and began checking the stalls. The barn smelled bad, but not as repulsive as the basement. I stopped next to a fertilizer bin and looked into the cabinet there. No one. The upper door was too small, so I didn't look.
I turned my back and was headed for the door, when I heard the faintest creak of a door above me. I looked over my shoulder in time to see a man exploding out of the tiny cramped cabinet. Before I could react the scarecrow had locked his legs tightly around my waist. I raised my fists and beat against them but I felt a powerful hand clamp over my nose and mouth.
"Mmmmmpphhh!!" I gurgled into the cloth. The sickly sweet scent was almost as bad as the basement's stench and I had to fight to keep from breathing the anaesthetic. But the scarecrow pounded his fists and knees into my ribs, forcing me to breathe his noxious poison. My body's defenses fought against it, but I could see I was going to be overwhelmed. I tried to fly, hoping to dislodge the interloper, but instead, I spiralled to the ground, crashing hard. I felt the scarecrow dislodge and on shaky legs, I tried to get to my feet.
But the scarecrow was faster, and I felt him diving at me again, grabbing a spade and I flet the crush of the blade against the back of my head. I crumpled to the floor.
I opened my eyes a short time later. The air was heavy with diesel fumes and as I raised my head, I saw I was chained to a support pillar in the barn. Across the way, the scarecrow was sitting on the tractor. "You'll be my greatest triumph White Owl!" he called. "The world will tremble at the name Effigy!" He revved the tractor up and drove it straight at me, jumping off as it crossed the floor.
I stressed on the chains, but they weren't going to give easily. I braced the floor and pushed back with my feet. The support pillar was too thick and strong to givee way. The tractor kept rolling toward me and I was running out of time. "Have to time this right," I thought. The chains were just loose enough to let me try this stunt. As the tractor drew close, I jumped up, trying to fly. The chains impeded me in part, but I felt myself rising off the ground. I rose above the top of the tractor and watched as the heavy diesel machine crashed through the pillar and the far wall. I dropped from the pillar, and landed, running out into the night.
The tractor was still running, heading toward the fuel tanks. I managed to snap the chains at last, and raced after the tractor. I caught up with it and managed to switch it off before it hit the tanks. I heard a loud crash behind me and as I turned, the barn collapsed from all the damge the tractor had wrought. As the dust cleared, I could see no movement from inside. Climbing down from the tractor, I saw two men in trooper hats approaching. I slipped down and rested by the large wheel ni the back of the tractor. Thank goodness the sheriff had arrived.
"White Owl?" asked one of the deputies. I nodded wearily.
"Sheriff Lynch said to thank you for your efforts, but said you might also want to go back to the city, as the county has laws against vigilantes." I smiled at this.
"You should find the killer in the remains of the barn," I said. "He called himself Effigy."
"We'll get him out, ma'am."
I nodded and flew out toward Victory Park. The morning papers brought the headlines of the grisly murders and of the sheriff's role in solving the case. White Owl was conspicuously absent in the articles. That night, I went back to police HQ. "You did a good job White Owl, it's too bad it will never be officially recognized."
"I'm not in it for the acclain, Captain."
He smirked. "Right, you dress like an escapee from Peter Pan and fly all over creation for altruistic reasons."
I smiled. "Well maybe a little recognition."
"They pulled him out, you know?"
"Effigy?"
"Yeah. Apparently he was in the barn. Not a scratch on him. Apparently he's triple jointed and was hidden in a really tiny spot.. Geez you took a big risk. Just be extra careful out there" I nodded solemnly.
Halloween night I was again at Alex's. The Halloween goblins seemed like the usual mix of ninjas, princesses, ghosts and TV characters. But I kept my eyes open for a scarecrow. I didn't see one the whole night, either at Alex's or on patrol later. But Culver's was open, and the maze and haunted house were in full swing. I landed, paid an admission and went in. With my costume, I wasn't given a second glance--and I saw two or three other White Owls in the mix.
There was a scarecrow on the gibbet again. But it wasn't Owen or Effigy. So I waited until he came down to speak with him. The scarecrow came by me around midnight. "Hello Mr Culver," I said.
He started and stared at me. "You're the real one," he said. "The real White Owl." I nodded. Lonnie sat down and mopped his head.
"I'm glad you came. I wanted to thank you. You may have saved my business. You DID save that girl." Lonnie frowned. "I just wish it hadn't been the killings and notoriety that brought the crowds."
"So what are your plans then?"
"Well we'll finish this season tonight, then I probably won't run the haunted attractions again. I don't want people coming to see a killing field, I want them to have a good time. And I can't have a good time running this any more."
I was about to reassure him, when I realized he may have been right. "Give it some time to heal, and then make your decisions, Mr Culver." He nodded and I smiled. "Well I'd better be going. It seems that Sheriff Lynch isn't all that pleased with me."
Culver smiled. "Don't worry about him, White Owl. At least tonight, he's occupied elsewhere. But I understand you have a lot more to do tonight than sit with an old farmer. We walked to the edge of the parking lot and I caught a current that brought me downtown. The rest of the patrol was uneventful and I was in bed early for White Owl.
The End.
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